45 
This account v/oiild not be complete without a reference to 
a catalogue made two years ago by Dr. Henry Woodward, of 
the British Museum, by whom it is now kindly given to the 
Society. This catalogue will be preserved in our Library, to 
remain a permanent record of the details of the collection. 
Noyembeu 2ni).- —The Eev. Canon Eaine read a short 
paper, in which he gave some new facts relating to St. Mary’s 
Abbey. He said :—‘ The notices which I have to offer about 
St. Mary’s Abbey are notelets merely, and deserve compara¬ 
tively little attention, still they have a value of their own, and 
help to build up the history of a fabric which must always be 
full of interest. 1. Let me speak of the choir, some of the 
beautiful ruins of which still exist. In 1270 the Norman choir 
was in a dangerous state, and it was found necessary to remove 
the high-altar from the chancel, most probably into the nave or 
transept. The chancel would then be boarded off and the work 
of demolition would begin. On the 9th of June, in the 
following year, the foundation stone of the new choir was 
laid by the great Abbat, Simon de Warwick, who, seated in his 
official chair, whilst his monks were standing around, laid the 
mortar in which the first stone was bedded. The stone for the 
building was brought from a quarry in Thevesdale, on 
Bramham Moor, which had been granted to the church by 
John de Yavasour. 2. Let me now mention some new facts 
about the great central tower. In 1278 the progress of the new 
chancel had been so considerable that it was necessary to begin 
with the tower, and as we may conceive that the means of the 
convent would be by this time very deeply dipped into, it 
became desirable to seek for extraneous help. Accordingly we 
have among Dodsworth’s MSS. at Oxford a copy of a docu¬ 
ment issued by Archbishop Griffard promulgating an indul¬ 
gence of 40 days to all who gave their aid to the w^ork. 
This indulgence is not found in the Archbishop’s Eegister, 
which is still preserved, but it is probable that Dodsworth 
found and transcribed the original document among the 
archives of the monastery itself, in St. Mary’s Tower. It is 
evident that the great central ornament of the Abbey consisted 
